Figure 1: Charging aisle of a Basic Oxygen Steelmaking Plant showing

scrap being charged into the BOF vessel. A ladle full of hot metal is
seen to the right.
THE BASIC OXYGEN STEELMAKING (BOS) PROCESS

By John Stubbles, Steel Industry Consultant

I INTRODUCTION

Accounting for 60% of the world's total output of crude steel, the Basic
Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) process is the dominant steelmaking
technology. In the U.S., that figure is 54% and slowly declining due
primarily to the advent of the "Greenfield" electric arc furnace (EAF)
flat-rolled mills. However, elsewhere its use is growing.

There exist several variations on the BOS process: top blowing, bottom
blowing, and a combination of the two. This study will focus only on the
top blowing variation.

The Basic Oxygen Steelmaking process differs from the EAF in that it is
autogenous, or self-sufficient in energy. The primary raw materials for
the BOP are 70-80% liquid hot metal from the blast furnace and the
balance is steel scrap. These are charged into the Basic Oxygen
Furnace (BOF) vessel. Oxygen (>99.5% pure) is "blown" into the BOF at
supersonic velocities. It oxidizes the carbon and silicon contained in the
hot metal liberating great quantities of heat which melts the scrap.
There are lesser energy contributions from the oxidation of iron,
manganese, and phosphorus. The post combustion of carbon monoxide
as it exits the vessel also transmits heat back to the bath.

The product of the BOS is molten steel with a specified chemical

anlaysis at 2900°F-3000°F. From here it may undergo further refining in
a secondary refining process or be sent directly to the continuous
caster where it is solidified into semifinished shapes: blooms, billets, or
slabs.

Basic refers to the magnesia (MgO) refractory lining which wears

through contact with hot, basic slags. These slags are required to
remove phosphorus and sulfur from the molten charge.

BOF heat sizes in the U.S. are typically around 250 tons, and tap-to-tap
times are about 40 minutes, of which 50% is "blowing time". This rate
of production made the process compatible with the continuous casting
of slabs, which in turn had an enormous beneficial impact on yields
from crude steel to shipped product, and on downstream flat-rolled
quality.

II BASIC OPERATION

BOS process replaced open hearth steelmaking. The process predated

continuous casting. As a consequence, ladle sizes remained unchanged
in the renovated open hearth shops and ingot pouring aisles were built
in the new shops. Six-story buildings are needed to house the Basic
Oxygen Furnace (BOF) vessels to accommodate the long oxygen lances
that are lowered and raised from the BOF vessel and the elevated alloy
and flux bins. Since the BOS process increases productivity by almost
an order of magnitude, generally only two BOFs were required to
replace a dozen open hearth furnaces.

Some dimensions of a typical 250 ton BOF vessel in the U.S. are:
height 34 feet, outside diameter 26 feet, barrel lining thickness 3 feet,
and working volume 8000 cubic feet. A control pulpit is usually located
between the vessels. Unlike the open hearth, the BOF operation is
conducted almost "in the dark" using mimics and screens to determine
vessel inclination, additions, lance height, oxygen flow etc.

Once the hot metal temperature and chemical analaysis of the blast
furnace hot metal are known, a computer charge models determine
the optimum proportions of scrap and hot metal, flux additions, lance
height and oxygen blowing time.
Figure 2: BOF Vessel in Its Operating Positions. (Ref: Making, Shaping,
and Treating of Steel, 11th Edition, Steelmaking And Refining Volume.
AISE Steel Foundation, 1998, Pittsburgh PA)

A "heat" begins when the BOF vessel is tilted about 45 degrees

towards the charging aisle and scrap charge (about 25 to 30% of the
heat weight) is dumped from a charging box into the mouth of the
cylindrical BOF. The hot metal is immediately poured directly onto the
scrap from a transfer ladle. Fumes and kish (graphite flakes from the
carbon saturated hot metal) are emitted from the vessel's mouth and
collected by the pollution control system. Charging takes a couple of
minutes. Then the vessel is rotated back to the vertical position and
lime/dolomite fluxes are dropped onto the charge from overhead bins
while the lance is lowered to a few feet above the bottom of the vessel.
The lance is water-cooled with a multi-hole copper tip. Through this
lance, oxygen of greater than 99.5% purity is blown into the mix. If the
oxygen is lower in purity, nitrogen levels at tap become unacceptable.

As blowing begins, an ear-piercing shriek is heard. This is soon muffled

 Figure 3:
Section
through
the BOF
vessel
during
oxygen
blowing.
(Ref:
Making,
Shaping,
and
Treating of
Steel,
11th
Edition,
Steelmaki
ng And
Refining
Volume.
AISE Steel
Foundatio
n, 1998,
Pittsburgh
PA)

as silicon from the hot metal is oxidized forming silica, SiO2, which
reacts with the basic fluxes to form a gassy molten slag that envelops
the lance. The gas is primarily carbon monoxide (CO) from the carbon
in the hot metal. The rate of gas evolution is many times the volume of
the vessel and it is common to see slag slopping over the lip of the
vessel, especially if the slag is too viscous. Blowing continues for a
predetermined time based on the metallic charge chemistry and the
melt specification. This is typically 15 to 20 minutes, and the lance is
generally preprogrammed to move to different heights during the
blowing period. The lance is then raised so that the vessel can be
turned down towards the charging aisle for sampling and temperature
tests. Static charge models however do not ensure consistent
turndown at the specified carbon and temperature because the hot
metal analysis and metallic charge weights are not known precisely.
Furthermore, below 0.2% C, the highly exothermic oxidation of iron
takes place to a variable degree along with decarburization. The "drop"
in the flame at the mouth of the vessel signals low carbon, but
temperature at turndown can be off by +/- 100°F.

In the past, this meant delays for reblowing or adding coolants. Today,
with more operating experience, better computer models, more
attention to metallic input quality, and the availability of ladle furnaces
 Figure 4:
A ladle of
molten
steel
leaving for
the ladle
metallurgi
cal facility
or the
caster.

that adjust for temperature, turndown control is more consistent. In

some shops, sublances provide a temperature-carbon check about two
minutes before the scheduled end of the blow. This information permits
an "in course" correction during the final two minutes and better turn-
down performance. However, operation of sublances is costly, and the
required information is not always obtained due to malfunctioning of
the sensors.

Once the heat is ready for tapping and the preheated ladle is
positioned in the ladle car under the furnace, the vessel is tilted
towards the tapping aisle, and steel emerges from the taphole in the
upper "cone" section of the vessel. The taphole is generally plugged
with material that prevents slag entering the ladle as the vessel turns
down. Steel burns through the plug immediately. To minimize slag
carryover into the ladle at the end of tapping, various "slag stoppers"
have been designed. These work in conjunction with melter's eyeballs,
which remain the dominant control device. Slag in the ladle results in
phosphorus reversion, retarded desulfurization, and possibly "dirty
steel". Ladle additives are available to reduce the iron oxide level in
the slag but nothing can be done to alter the phosphorus.

After tapping steel into the ladle, and turning the vessel upside down
and tapping the remaining slag into the "slag pot", the vessel is
returned to the upright position. In many shops residual slag is blown
with nitrogen to coat the barrel and trunion areas of the vessel. This
process is known as "slag splashing". Near the end of a campaign,
gunning with refractory materials in high wear areas may also be
necessary. Once vessel maintenance is complete the vessel is ready to
receive the next charge.

III BASIC CHEMISTRY AND HEAT BALANCE

A heat size of 250 tons is used as the basis for the following
calculations. This is close to the average heat size for the 50 BOFs
which were operable in the U.S. in 1999. The following charge
chemistry is assumed:
%C %Si %Mn %S %P %Al Residuals
Hot metal 4.5 .75 1.0 .01 .05 0 0
Scrap .05 .05 .4 .015 .01 .03 0.1
Table 1 illustrates the heat balance PER TON OF HOT METAL. It
assumes a 75% hot metal in a total charge of 275 tons which yields
250 tons of liquid steel (without alloys). If the oxygen were supplied as
air, the heat required to take N2 from room temperature to 2900°F
would be about 500,000 Btu per NTHM, which illustrates that the BOS
is a Bessemer process with cold scrap substituted for cold nitrogen.
(NTHM one short ton or 2000 pounds of hot metal).

TABLE I. HEAT BALANCE PER NET TON OF HOT METAL

75% HOT METAL IN CHARGE
HEAT Btu HEAT Btu
AVAILABLE (000's) REQUIRED (000's)
H.M 2400—
C —> CO 366 220
>2900 F _
FLUXES —
Si —> SiO2 204 110
>2900 F
Mn —> MnO 60 O2 —>2900 F 120
P —>P2O5 10 HEAT LOSSES 50
SCRAP —
Fe—>FeO 110 415
>2900 F
CO—>CO2 130
SLAG
35
FORMATION
TOTAL 915 915
The actual percentage of hot metal in the charge is very sensitive to
the silicon content and temperature of the hot metal and obviously
increases as these decrease.

The oxygen required per heat is shown in Table II, as #/NTHM and as a
percentage for the various reactions. 181#/NTHM corresponds to about
18.6 tons/per heat or 1800 scf/tapped ton. Oxygen consumption
increases if end-point control is poor and reblows are necessary.
TABLE II. OXYGEN REQUIREMENTS PER NTHM
REACTION #/NTHM % OF TOTAL
C —>CO 120 66
Si—>SiO2 17 9
Fe—>FeO (SLAG) 16 9
CO—>CO2 12 7
Fe—>FeO (FUME) 8 4
Mn,P—>MnO,P2O5 7 4
DISSOLVED OXYGEN 1 1
181 100
The final calculation for yield losses is shown in TABLE III. The
metalloids and Mn are oxidized out of the hot metal, the scrap is often
coated with Zn which volatilizes, and iron units are lost to the slag,
fume, and slopping. To tap 250 tons of liquid steel, 250/0.91 or 275
charge tons are required, of which 206 will be hot metal, and the
balance scrap.

TABLE III YIELD LOSSES IN A BOF HEAT

%
LOSS
CHARGE
METALLOIDS IN HM (6.3%) 4.7
DEBRIS,COATINGS ON SCRAP
0.6
( 2.5 %)
IRON TO SLAG 2.2
IRON TO FUME 1
IRON TO SLOPPING 0.5
TOTAL 9
IV RAW MATERIALS

i) HOT METAL

Hot metal is liquid iron from the blast furnace saturated with up to
4.3% carbon and containing 1% or less silicon, Si. It is transported to
the BOF shop either in torpedo cars or ladles. The hot metal chemistry
depends on how the blast furnace is operated and what burden (iron-
bearing) materials are charged to it. The trend today is to run at high
productivity with low slag volumes and fuel rates, leading to lower
silicon and higher sulfur levels in the hot metal. If BOF slag is recycled,
P and Mn levels rise sharply since they report almost 100% to the hot
metal. U.S. iron ores are low in both elements.

The sulfur level from the blast furnace can be 0.05% but an efficient
hot metal desulfurizing facility ahead of the BOF will reduce this to
below .01%. The most common desulfurizing reagents, lime, calcium
carbide and magnesium - used alone or in combination - are injected
into the hot metal through a lance. The sulfur containing compounds
report to the slag; however, unless the sulfur-rich slag is skimmed
before the hot metal is poured into the BOF, the sulfur actually charged
will be well above the level expected from the metal analysis.

ii) SCRAP

In autogenous BOS operation, scrap is by far the largest heat sink. At

20 - 25% of the charge it is one of the most important and costly
components of the charge.

Steel scrap is available in many forms. The major categories are "home
scrap", generated within the plant. With the advent of continuous
casting, the quantity of home scrap has diminished and it is now
necessary for integrated mills to buy scrap on the market. Flat rolled
scrap is generally of good quality and it's impact on the chemistry of
BOF operations can almost be ignored. There is a yield loss of about
2% due to the zinc coating on galvanized scrap. "Prompt scrap" is
generated during the manufacturing of steel products. It finds its way
into the recycling stream very quickly. Many steel mills have
agreements with manufacturers to buy their prompt scrap. "Obsolete"
or "post consumer" scrap returns to the market after a product has
ended its useful life. Cans return to the market very quickly but autos
have an average life of 12 years.

Scrap also comes in many sizes, varying chemical analyses and a

variety of prices. All of which makes the purchase and melting of scrap
a very complex issue. Very large pieces of scrap can be difficult to melt
and may damage the vessel when charged. Some scrap may contain
oil or surface oxidation. Obsolete scrap may contain a variety of other
objects which could be hazardous or explosive. Obviously the chemical
analysis of obsolete scrap is imprecise.

Scrap selection is further complicated by the wide variety of steel

products. Deep drawing steels limit the maximum residual (%Cu +%Sn
+ %Ni +%Cr +%Mo) content to less than 0.13%. While other products
allow this to range as high as 0.80%. Since these elements cannot be
oxidized from the steel, their content in the final product can only be
reduced by dilution with very high purity scrap or hot metal. The use of
low residual hot metal in the BOS, with its inherent dilution effect, is
one of the features that distinguish BOF from EAF steelmaking.

iii) FLUXES

Fluxes serve two important purposes. First they combine with SiO2
which is oxidized from the hot metal to form a "basic" slag that is fluid
at steelmaking temperatures. This slag absorbs and retains sulfur and
phosphorus from the hot metal.

Lime (95+% CaO) and dolomite (58%CaO, 39% MgO) are the two
primary fluxes. They are obtained by calcining the carbonate minerals,
generally offsite in rotary kilns. Calcining CaCO3 and MgCO3 liberates
CO2 leaving CaO or MgO. Two types, "soft" and "hard" burned lime, are
available. A lump of soft burned lime dissolves quickly in a cup of water
liberating heat. Hard burned material just sits there. Soft burned fluxes
form slag more quickly than hard-burned, and in the short blowing
cycle, this is critical for effective sulfur and phosphorus removal. The
amount of lime charged depends on the Si content of the hot metal.

In BOS steelmaking a high CaO/SiO2 ratio in the slag is desirable, e.g.

3. A rule of thumb is 6 X the weight of Si charged. The MgO addition is
designed to be about 8 to 10% of the final slag weight. This saturates
the slag with MgO, thus reducing chemical erosion of the MgO vessel
lining.

iv) COOLANTS

Limestone, scrap, and sponge iron are all potential coolants that can
be added to a heat that has been overblown and is excessively hot.
The economics and handling facilities dictate the selection at each
shop.

v) ALLOYS

Bulk alloys are charged from overhead bins into the ladle. The common
alloys are ferromanganese (80%Mn, 6%C, balance Fe),
silicomanganese (66%Mn, 16%Si, 2%C, balance Fe), and ferrosilicon
(75% Si, balance Fe). Aluminum can be added as shapes and/or
injected as rod. Sulfur, carbon, calcium, and special elements like
boron and titanium are fed at the ladle furnace as powders sheathed in
a mild steel casing about 1/2 inch in diameter.

V REFRACTORIES

The basis for most refractory bricks for oxygen steelmaking vessels in
the U.S. today is magnesia, MgO, which can be obtained from minerals
or seawater. Only one dolomite (MgO + CaO) deposit is worked in the
U.S (near Reading, PA). For magnesia, the lower the boron oxide
content, and the lower the impurity levels (but with a CaO/SiO2 ratio
above 2 to avoid low melting point intergranular phases), the greater
the hot strength of the brick. Carbon is added as pitch (tar) or graphite.

The magnesia lime type refractories used in lining oxygen steelmaking

vessels are selected mainly for their compatibility with the highly basic
finishing slags required to remove and retain phosphorus in solution.
During refining, the refractories are exposed to a variety of slag
conditions ranging from 1 to 4 basicity as silicon is oxidizes from the
bath and combines with lime. The iron oxide, FeO, content of the bath
increases with blowing time especially as the carbon in the steel falls
below 0.2 % and Fe is oxidized. Although all refractory materials are
dissolved by FeO, MgO forms a solid solution with FeO, meaning they
coexist as solids within a certain temperature range. The high
concentrations of FeO formed late in the blow, however, will oxidize the
carbon in the brick.

The original bricks were tar bonded, where the MgO grains were coated
with tar and pressed warm represented a great step forward for the
BOS process. Tempering removed volatiles. In service, the tar was
coked and the residual intergranular carbon resisted slag wetting and
attack by FeO. In addition, as the tar softened during vessel heat-up,
the lining was relieved of expansive stresses. Hot strength was
increased by sintering bricks made from pure MgO grains at a high
temperature and then impregnating them with tar under a vacuum.
However, for environmental reasons these types of bricks are no longer
used in oxygen steelmaking.

Today's working lining refractories are primarily resin-bonded

magnesia-carbon bricks made with high quality sintered magnesite
and high purity flake graphite. Resin-bonded brick are unfired and
contain 5% to 25% high purity flake graphite and one or more
powdered metals. These brick require a simple curing step at 350 to
400°F to "thermoset" the resin that makes them very strong and
therefore easily handled during installation. Further refinements
include using prefused grains in the mix. Small additions of metal
additives (Si, Al, and Mg) protect the graphite from oxidation because
they are preferentially oxidized. Metallic carbides, nitrides, and
magnesium-aluminate spinel form in service at the hot face of the
brick filling voids, and adding strength and resistance to slag attack.

The rate of solution of a refractory by the slag is dependent on its

properties. These properties are directly related to the purity and
crystal sizes of the starting ingredients as well as the manufacturing
process. Additions of up to 15% high purity graphite to MgO-carbon
refractories provide increased corrosion resistance. Beyond 15% this
trend is reversed due to the lower density of the brick. Ultimately, the
cost per ton of steel for brick and gunning repair materials, coupled
with the need for vessel availability, dictate the choice of lining.

The penetration of slag and metal between the refractory grains,

mechanical erosion by liquid movement, and chemical attack by slags
all contribute to loss of lining material. Over the years, there have been
numerous operating developments designed to counteract this lining
wear:

i) Critical wear zones (impact and tap pads, turndown slag lines, and
trunion areas) in furnaces have been zoned with bricks of the highest
quality.

ii) "Slag splashing" whereby residual liquid slag remaining after the tap
is splashed onto the lining with high pressure nitrogen blown through
the oxygen lance. This seemingly simple practice has increased lining
life beyond all expectations, from a few thousand to over 20,000 heats
per campaign.

iii) Instruments are now available to measure lining contours in a short

time period, to maximize gunning effectiveness using MgO slurries.
iv) Dolomite (40%MgO) is added to the flux addition to create slags
with about 8% MgO, which is close to the MgO saturation level of the
slag.

v) Improved end-point control resulting in lower FeO levels and shorter

oxygen-off to charge intervals have reduced refractory deterioration.

None of the above would be significant however, without the

improvements in quality and type of basic brick available to the
industry.

Today, the refractory industry is undergoing major structural changes.

Companies are being continually acquired and the total number of
North American suppliers is greatly reduced. A very high percentage of
refractory materials are being produced off shore, with China being the
most significant newcomer.

VI ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Environmental challenges at BOS shops include: (1) the capture and
removal of contaminants in the hot and dirty primary off-gas from the
converter; (2) secondary emissions associated with charging and
tapping the furnaces; (3) control of emissions from ancillary operations
such as hot metal transfer, desulfurization, or ladle metallurgy
operations; (4) the recycling and/or disposal of collected oxide dusts or
sludges; and (5) the disposition of slag.

In the U.S., most BOF primary gas handling systems are designed to
generate plant steam from the water-cooled hood serving the primary
system. About half of the systems are open combustion designs where
excess air is induced at the mouth of the hood to completely burn the
carbon monoxide. The gases are then cooled and cleaned either in a
wet scrubber or a dry electrostatic precipitator. The remainder of U.S.
systems are suppressed combustion systems where gases are handled
in an uncombusted state and cleaned in a wet scrubber before being
ignited prior to discharge. In both cases, the cleaned gases must meet
EPA-mandated levels for particulate matter.

Suppressed combustion systems offer the potential for recovery of

energy, a practice that is more prevalent in Europe and Japan.
However, in the U.S., other than steam generation, no attempt is made
to capture the chemical or sensible heat in the off-gas leaving the
vessel. While this represents the loss of a considerable amount of
energy (about 0.7 million Btu/ton), the pay-back on capital required,
either for the conversion of open combustion to suppressed
combustion systems or the addition of necessary gas collection
facilities for suppressed combustion systems, is over 10 years. In
addition, the necessity of taking shops out of service to make these
changes is not practical. Most BOF shops in the U.S. pre-date the
energy crises of the 1970s, and even today, energy in the U.S. is
relatively less expensive than it is abroad.

Secondary fugitive emissions associated with charging and tapping the

BOF vessel, or emissions escaping the main hood during oxygen
blowing, may be captured by exhaust systems serving local hoods or
high canopy hoods located in the trusses of the shop or both. Typically
a fabric collector, or baghouse, is use for the collection of these
fugitive emissions. Similarly, ancillary operations such as hot metal
transfer stations, desulfurization, or ladle metallurgy operations are
usually served by local hood systems exhausted to fabric filters.

The particulate matter captured in the primary system, whether in the

form of sludge from wet scrubbers or dry dust from precipitators, must
be processed before recycling. Sludge from wet scrubbers requires an
extra drying step. Unlike EAF dust, BOF dust or sludge is not a listed
hazardous waste. If the zinc content is low enough, it can be recycled
to the blast furnace or BOF vessel after briquetting or pelletizing.
Numerous processes for recycling the particulate are in use or under
development.

BOF slag typically contains about 5% MnO and 1% P2O5 and are often
can be recycled through the blast furnace. Because lime in steel slag
absorbs moisture and expands on weathering, its use as an aggregate
material is limited, but other commercial uses are being developed to
minimize the amount that must be disposed.

VII CONCLUSION

The BOS has been a pivotal process in the transformation of the U.S.
steel industry since World War II. Although it was not recognized at the
time, the process made it possible to couple melting with continuous
casting. The result has been that melt shop process and finishing mill
quality and yields improved several percent, such that the quantity of
raw steel required per ton of product decreased significantly.

The future of the BOS depends on the availability of hot metal, which in
turn depends on the cost and availability of coke. Although it is
possible to operate BOFs with reduced hot metal charges, i.e. < 70%,
there are productivity penalties and costs associated with the supply of
auxiliary fuels. Processes to replace the blast furnace are being
constantly being unveiled, and the concept of a hybrid BOF-EAF is
already a reality at the Saldahna Works in South Africa. However, it
appears that the blast furnace and the BOS will be with us for many
decades into the future.
The American Iron and Steel Institute acknowledges, with thanks, the
contributions of Teresa M. Speiran, Senior Research Engineer,
Refractories and Bruce A. Steiner, Senior Environmental Advisor, Collier
Shannon Scott PLLC.

ADDENDUM

HISTORY OF THE BASIC OXYGEN STEELMAKING PROCESS

Basic Oxygen Steelmaking is unquestionably the "son of Bessemer",

the original pneumatic process patented by Sir Henry Bessemer in
1856. Because oxygen was not available commercially in those days,
air was the oxidant. It was blown through tuyeres in the bottom of the
pear shaped vessel. Since air is 80% inert nitrogen, which entered the
vessel cold but exited hot, removed so much heat from the process
that the charge had to be almost 100% hot metal for it to be
autogenous. The inability of the Bessemer process to melt significant
quantities of scrap became an economic handicap as steel scrap
accumulated. Bessemer production peaked in the U.S. in 1906 and
lingered until the 1960s.

There are two interesting historical footnotes to the original Bessemer

story:

William Kelly was awarded the original U.S. patent for pneumatic
steelmaking over Bessemer in 1857. However, it is clear that Kelly's
"air boiling" process was conducted at such low blowing rates that the
heat generation barely offset the heat losses. He never developed a
commercial process for making steel consistently.

Most European iron ores and therefore hot metal was high in sulfur and
phosphorus and no processes to remove these from steel had been
developed in the 1860s. As a result, Bessemer's steel suffered from
both "hot shortness" (due to sulfur) and "cold shortness" (due to
phosphorus) that rendered it unrollable. For his first commercial plant
in Sheffield, 1866, Bessemer remelted cold pig iron imported from
Sweden as the raw material for his hot metal. This charcoal derived pig
iron was low in phosphorus and sulfur, and (fortuitously) high in
manganese which acted as a deoxidant. In contrast the U.S. pig iron
was produced using low sulfur charcoal and low phosphorus domestic
ore. Therefore, thanks to the engineering genius of Alexander Holley,
two Bessemer plants were in operation by 1866. However, the daily
output of remotely located charcoal blast furnaces was very low.
Therefore, hot metal was produced by remelting pig iron in cupolas and
gravity feeding it to the 5 ton Bessemer vessels.
The real breakthrough for Bessemer occurred in 1879 when Sidney
Thomas, a young clerk from a London police court, shocked the
metallurgical establishment by presenting data on a process to remove
phosphorus (and also sulfur) from Bessemer's steel. He developed
basic linings produced from tar-bonded dolomite bricks. These were
eroded to form a basic slag that absorbed phosphorus and sulfur,
although the amounts remained high by modern standards. The
Europeans quickly took to the "Thomas Process" because of their very
high-phosphorus hot metal, and as a bonus, granulated the
phosphorus-rich molten slag in water to create a fertilizer. In the U.S.,
Andrew Carnegie, who was present when Thomas presented his paper
in London, befriended the young man and cleverly acquired the U.S.
license, which squelched any steelmaking developments in the South
where high phosphorus ores are located.

Although Bessemer's father had jokingly suggested using pure oxygen

instead of air (U.K.patent 2207, Oct 5,1858), this possibility was to
remain a dream until "tonnage oxygen" became available at a
reasonable cost. A 250 ton BOF today needs about 20 tons of pure
oxygen every 40 minutes. Despite its high cost, oxygen was used in
Europe to a limited extent in the 1930's to enrich the air blast for blast
furnaces and Thomas converters. It was also used in the U.S for
scarfing, and welding.

The production of low cost tonnage oxygen was stimulated in World

War II by the German V2 rocket program. After the war, the Germans
were denied the right to manufacture tonnage oxygen, but oxygen
plants were shipped to other countries. The bottom tuyeres used in the
Bessemer and Thomas processes could not withstand even oxygen-
enriched air, let alone pure oxygen. In the late 1940s, Professor Durrer
in Switzerland pursued his prewar idea of injecting pure oxygen
through the top of the vessel. Development now moved to neighboring
Austria where developers wanted to produce low nitrogen, flat-rolled
sheet, but a shortage of scrap precluded open hearth operations.
Following pilot plant trials at Linz and Donawitz, a top blown pneumatic
process for a 35 ton vessel using pure oxygen was commercialized by
Voest at Linz in 1952. The nearby Dolomite Mountains also provided an
ideal source of material for basic refractories.

The new process was officially dubbed the "LD Process" and because of
its high productivity was seen globally as a viable, low capital process
by which the war torn countries of Europe could rebuild their steel
industries. Japan switched from a rebuilding plan based on open
hearths to evaluate the LD, and installed their first unit at Yawata in
1957.

Two small North American installations started at Dofasco and McLouth

in 1954. However, with the know-how and capital invested in 130
million tons of open hearth capacity, plans for additional open hearth
capacity well along, cheap energy, and heat sizes greater by an order
of magnitude (300 versus 30 tons), the incentive to install this
untested, small-scale process in North America was lacking. The
process was acknowledged as a breakthrough technically but the
timing, scale, and economics were wrong for the time. The U.S., which
manufactured about 50% of the world's total steel output, needed steel
for a booming post-war economy.

There were also acrimonious legal actions over patent rights to the
process and the supersonic lance design, which was now multihole
rather than single hole. Kaiser Industries held the U.S. patent rights but
in the end, the U.S. Supreme Court supported lower court decisions
that considered the patent to be invalid.

Nevertheless, the appeal of lower energy, labor, and refractory costs

for the LD process could not be denied and although oxygen usage in
the open hearth delayed the transition to the new process in the U.S.,
oxygen steelmaking tonnage grew steadily in the 1960's. By 1969, it
exceeded that of the open hearth for the first time and has never
relinquished its position as the dominant steelmaking process in the
U.S. but the name LD never caught on in the U.S.

Technical developments over the years include improved computer

models and instrumentation for improved turn-down control, external
hot metal desulfurization, bottom blowing and stirring with a variety of
gases and tuyeres, slag splashing, and improved refractories.